Make reservations for Thanksgiving dinner at these Southern restaurants

By&nbsp
Rachel Taylor

A lot goes into planning and cooking Thanksgiving dinner. For some it can be an overwhelming task. So if you’re not up to cooking and want to have a relaxing Thanksgiving head to a restaurant and leave the cooking up to the professionals.

According to a 2016 study by the National Restaurant Association, one in ten people dine out for Thanksgiving and one in twenty get a full takeout meal for the holiday. You won’t be the only one making reservations, so if you’re planning on taking the family out for Thanksgiving the sooner you reserve your table the better.

Here are some of the best places in the South to dine on Thanksgiving:

Birmingham, Alabama
The three-course Thanksgiving menu at Galley & Garden offers guests with a few options to choose from. Begin Thanksgiving dinner with roasted butternut squash or cornmeal-crusted oysters and for the main course go for traditional roasted turkey or change it up and choose the braised beef short ribs.

Atlanta, Georgia
At The Colonnade guests can enjoy a four-course Thanksgiving dinner that includes Southern-fried chicken, North Georgia rainbow trout and don’t forget to leave room for roasted turkey.

Dinner begins early at The Shed at Glenwood. And by early we mean you can start ordering a Thanksgiving dinner, including smoked turkey, Coca Cola glazed ham and fresh cranberry sauce, at noon.

Louisville, Kentucky
Using ingredients from nearby farms, Proof on Main has created a Thanksgiving menu full of local flavor. Enjoy Southern-inspired dishes like turkey breast, butter whipped potato and sorghum Brussels sprouts.

New Orleans, Louisiana
Aboard the Creole Queen Thanksgiving dinner is served while cruising down the Mississippi River with a jazz band provides entertainment. The buffet includes roasted turkey, smoked brisket, dirty rice and wild berry cobbler.

Celebrate Thanksgiving dinner full of Cajun flavor at the Red Fish Grill in New Orleans. The restaurant will be serving a menu that includes Turducken gumbo with dirty rice, Louisiana boiled shrimp, Cajun fried turkey and alligator sausage cornbread stuffing.

North CarolinaCharlotte
For a true Lowcountry-style Thanksgiving dinner, head to New South Kitchen in Charlotte. The restaurant will be serving up deep-fried turkey, cornbread stuffing, sweet tea brined pork loin and mac and cheese. If you want to order this meal to bring home on Thanksgiving make sure to get your order in before November 21.

Ashville
For the ultimate Thanksgiving experience, dine at The Inn on Biltmore Estate. The four-course dinner is served in The Dining Room offering an intimate Thanksgiving experience. After dinner guests can enjoy live Christmas music in the Library Lounge.

Charleston, South Carolina
The prix-fixe Thanksgiving menu at High Cotton allows diners to choose lobster bisque or broiled oysters to start the meal and roasted turkey or filet mignon for the entrée. Sticky toffee pudding and pumpkin pie are also on the menu at this charming restaurant in Charleston.

Take a Thanksgiving dinner cruise down the Tennessee River on the Southern Belle Riverboat. The lunch or dinner cruise includes turkey, ham and many dessert options to choose from.

Memphis
Head to a Thanksgiving buffet that’s fit for a king—The King Elvis Presley that is. Dine on a Thanksgiving menu at The Guest House at Graceland that includes honey-brined roasted turkey, toasted gnocchi and pumpkin seed crusted salmon. Make sure you leave room for dessert and indulge in toasted coconut pie and pumpkin spice pie.

Sevierville
A true Thanksgiving feast awaits you at Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant & Grill located just outside of Knoxville. This Southern restaurant will be serving roast turkey, cornbread sausage dressing, prime rib, apple fritters and you can’t forget about the pumpkin pie.

TexasHouston
Dine in a 113-year-old cabin for a special Thanksgiving dinner. At the Rainbow Lodge along with traditional Thanksgiving dishes, the restaurant also offers some signature dishes like smoked duck, andouille sausage gumbo and lump crab-stuffed rainbow trout.

DallasY.O. Ranch Steakhouse offers traditional Thanksgiving favorites like turkey and pecan pie. But don’t be afraid to switch it up by trying some local dishes like the venison tamales and stuffed quail.

Austin
At Threadgill’s, the Southern-inspired Thanksgiving menu includes favorites like cornbread stuffing, candied yams and of course, turkey. But if you don’t feel like eating at the restaurant you can bring a Thanksgiving feast, that feeds 10-12, home to enjoy.

Washington D.C.Georgia Brown’s- is located only two blocks away from the White House and has been serving up a Thanksgiving feast for over twenty years. With five entrees to choose from and a long list of traditional sides, you’ll leave Thanksgiving dinner in a food coma.

Rachel Taylor is a staff writer at Southern Kitchen. She moved to Atlanta earlier this year after graduating college in Maryland, and has been a digital audience specialist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Politically Georgia, as well as a freelance writer for publications such as USA Today and the Delmarva Daily Times on Maryland's Eastern Shore. She has lived in France and Italy, and loves to travel.